Barenuckle Pick-ups For ESP Horizon NTII (Holy Diver, Nailbomb, Aftermath?)

[metalmaniac93]

dheim, that is an awesome looking guitar.  Never heard of the company.  Nailbombs are my second choice, but the Engl Savage is plenty aggressive and I am afraid the A5 NB will be a bit too much.  I also play other stuff and while this will be mostly a metal guitar, i can get some fairly aggressive tones out of my Heritage 150CM (Les Paul Style) with Lindy Fralin Vintage Output PUs when plugged into the Savage.

[metalmaniac93]

Yes, the Engl Fireball is brutal!!!  Another great amp!!!

[dheim]

it's not a company, just a small luthier i would be surprised to learn you had heard about!
anyway my NB suggestion is based purely on my limited experience... i had HDs in an all-mahogany dark guitar (wrong, WRONG choice) and in an Ibz S, that's a difficult beast to tame... very middy and quite bright, it worked well with HDs but had a very focused and "dry" tone, that was not completely right for me... i still have to find a bad sounding NB, and i've got (or had) alnico and ceramic bombs in 5 different guitars. other forumites had a totally different experience with nailbombs and divers, actually...

[metalmaniac93]

I am still trying to choose the right PU and do not want to go wrong since they are expensive.  I also have an Ibanez RG Prestige (Mahogany with Maple Top) with an Air Norton and TZ that I might decide to swap out for something else.  Maybe the A5 Nailbomb in the bridge?

[ericsabbath]

I think the "problem" with the diver is not about all mahogany guitars, but THIN body mahogany guitars

I had a brazilian les paul standard copy that wasn't all mahogany, but had an imbuya top, that is way darker and more muffled sounding than mahogany, and a thick brazilian mahogany (same species as the honduran) body and neck
that was a quite dark and VERY bass heavy guitar, even with the painkiller and also the miracle man
and the holy diver sounded AWESOME in the guitar
even better than in my jap les paul copy with maple top, that's way brighter

the SG faded I had was just as resonant and had the same acoustic "reverb" and detailed honduras mahogany tone, but the same pickup sounded awful in that SG
it still ruled on leads, but the rhythm tone was pretty bad for BKP standards

['Ash' J. Williams]

J Williams,  is the HD neck articulate enough when used with high gain like the Engl or do I need to go with something like a CS in the neck? 

Well i think dheim has greatly described the HD neck.
It's pretty much a matter of what you're expecting of a tight neck pup; the HD neck is really beautiful and versatile.
If you need the tightest alnico-style Petrucci neck lead, Coldsweat definitely. Plus, it's very versatile too.

[metalmaniac93]

J Williams, thanks!!  I do have a little time because my guitar is being built, but I might buy a set of Holy Divers from my Carvin Bolt-T Plus Alder guitar, if I can get them to fit.  I love that guitar and it plays like a dream, but the Carvin PUs are just not cutting it. 

['Ash' J. Williams]

I think this kind of guitar + the HDs will be an extraordinary match.

[metalmaniac93]

J Williams, I just pulled the trigger and ordered a pair from Guitar Asylum (NY).

[Pale Rider]

The Holydiver has the Megadeth smooth distortion (Youthanasia, Countdown to Extinction) as well as the Whitesnake John Sykes 1987 tone (CHildren of the Night etc - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrQ9kwJmj70). It's great in my LTD MH400 mahogany/maple top body, maple/rosewood neck - set through construction (deep set-neck).

Tight enough and its main characteristic is that it's smooth and very clear with a balanced EQ.

[Slartibartfarst42]

The Holydiver keeps going up in my estimation the more I hear about it.

[metalmaniac93]

Looking forward to them in my Carvin Bolt-T Plus.  I will go with the HD in the bridge and possibly a CS in the neck for the  ESP NTII when it arrives.  John Sykes is one of my favs.  I was just watching the Sykes Live In LA 1995 last night.